Friday, January 24, 2014

Grow Your Blog 2014 and Giveaway

I met some wonderful new bloggers when I participated in Vicki's Grow Your Blog event last year. During the 2014 meet and greet, if this is your first time to Lavender Cottage, I hope you'll enjoy your visit to my home and garden blog and decide to follow me.

I love being a grandmother and I'm a serious 'tea granny', stopping for afternoon tea every day around 3 o'clock. As a matter of fact, I join quite a few other blogging ladies weekly on Tuesdays as we gather for tea, conversation and to share recipes.

To view any of the tea posts just click on the category "Tea With Friends" on the sidebar. If you take pleasure in sipping tea from a fine china teacup, like to create an inviting tea table for yourself or friends and visit tea rooms for the sheer bliss of an outing, you might want to join the hosts each week.

I'm a passionate gardener and freelance writer and like to share garden musings and photos of our certified wildlife habitat property.

Bird watching is another favourite hobby.

I've been creative in the past with ceramics and tole painting but for the last couple of years I've been making my own cards and attending workshops.

The draw will be made on February 15 and is open to everyone.
Thanks for visiting, and thank you to Vicki at 2 Bags Full, our host who once again went to great lengths to put us all together. Have fun visiting the other participants!

97 comments:

Hi Judith, Great post that sums up a lot of what your Lavender Cottage blog is about. I enjoyed seeing all of the photos. Your garden looks lovely strewn with crabapple blossoms! Love the picture with the lavender items, and your photo is great! It' a pleasure to join Vicki's party and yours is the first party post I've visited. Hugs, Beth

What a lovely post ! I stop for tea any time of the day lol ! Lovely lavender tea set ! I also enjoy birdwatching , gardening , nature and photography . Have you ever been to Lavender Farm in the little town of Sparta it is just a 20 min drive from us and is an amazing place ! Here is their web site http://www.lavenderblue.ca/ They sell all kinds of things ! Thanks for sharing . Have a good weekend 1

Hello Judith,I am already a follower but came over again to visit. I so love your pretty lavender tea set. Your garden is a dream. Your photo is lovely you look so fresh and healthy. Enjoy your weekend x

How wonderful that you are participating in this blog party! It's definitely a good one. I joined in a couple of years ago, but have now decided that I have more than enough followers for me to converse with. I adore your blog, your beautiful dishes, and exquisite garden. But most of all, I have loved getting to know you and am thrilled to count you as a blogging friend!

Tea at 3 sounds just fine loland tea in a cup and saucer is so much nicer, although I use mugs for practical purposes I mustr admit.Fine china improves the taste without doubt!Im a GYB volunteer visiting ahead of Vicki so leave me out of the draw.Hope you have a lovely new batch of bloggers popping in : )Lyn

Hello Judith Lavender blue is one of my favourite colours so I am feeling very at home here...I can almost smell the lavender through the screen...such a pretty blog......popping by as part of the 'grow your blog day' Its such a lovely way to find super new blogs to read...I am joining along with you too bestest weekend wishesDaisy j

I'm visiting from the GYB party. What a delicious peek into your world. I'm a gardener as well and aromatherapist and I love all things lavender so I feel quite at home in your beautiful surroundings. What a lovely tea set. And the idea of a regular afternoon tea ritual is really something I need to consider - it sounds so delightful!

Beautiful post...being a gardener and a card maker, myself, I thoroughly enjoyed your blog, I am your newest follower....I hope you will come by for a visit at nelliesnest.blospot.com and see a few of my garden photos!!

Hello dear Judithlovely to meet up at Vicki's party!Your garden looks so inviting, I would linger beside the little lavender hedge - I'm imagining the wonderful fragrance on summer evenings!I love your giveaway too - all things lavender are a pleasure.I wish I had more tea cups and I would join those tea parties more regularly - I had some lovely fun ones with my grandies in France - my bliss!HugsShane

Judith, your blog is so beautifully done and interesting. I love ALL things lavender so no wonder it was so appealing to me. What a wonderful time it must be on Tuesday's with your cup of tea and sharing tea and recipes with friends. Your give away is adorable and I would love a chance to win. Thank you for stopping by my blog! Teresawww.foxhollowtales.com

Your blog is beautiful, Judith. I'm a big fan of lavender and in fact can almost smell it's wonderful scent just looking at your lovely photos! I've visited you before via Vee's Note Card Party, and I'm now following. I'd love to have you follow me back! I'm looking forward to getting to know you better and seeing your gardens as I love flowers, too.

So nice getting to know you. Enjoy meeting new bloggers and have the nicest people blogging. Thanks so much for stopping by Buttercup's. I'd like to be part of the giveaway. P.S. I'm your newest follower.

Your blog is so beautiful, I am visiting from the Party. I am going to be a follower because lavender is one of my most favorite plants, I love tea, and I love beautiful photography. your giveaway is too pretty I am Kathy in live in Missouri-love lots of crafts and I am now retired too

I discovered your blog via another blog that joined the party! How fun is that? I joined via G+ and email. I like the Mosaic Monday photos and may begin joining in there. I enjoyed my visit here today, thank you!

Hi Judith! To be honest, I've followed your blog for some time and have also seen you comment on some of my favorite blogs. Perhaps we can get to know each other better in the coming year. PS -- I do love lavender! :)

Hi Judith, just popped in to say hello and wish you great success at this years' GYB party! Can you believe it's already a year since we met through this very party! :D It's been a wonderful year and I look forward to reading your blog and being blogging sisters for years to come!Hugs and enjoy the rest of the brrrr weekend!Beth P

I had to come over for a visit after the lovely comment you left for me on my blog. I only got down a few posts and thought that I better come back and leave you some love before I get totally immersed in your blog! I am off to enjoy more of your beautiful pictures!

Hi Judith, Grow Your Blog was a fantastic idea. I'm not participating, but I so much enjoy visiting all the blogs. I love the photo mosaics of your beautiful garden and the garden visitors (birds watching is a lot of fun). Also the cards you make look not only beautiful but very special and personal. Have a wonderful week,Olga

Hello, Judith! At last I'm making it around to more blogs :) Yours is very lovely -- elegant and peaceful. Oh, I adore afternoon tea, and I have a pot nearly every day. I hope I will pop over here sometimes to join you ladies. Please do enter me in your giveaway; it sounds lovely. Blessings to you today!

Hi Judith, you have beautiful property, surrounded with wildlife and colours. I do love lavender too, and that lavender tea set is so pretty. Perfect for white lavender tea . I've heard about grow your blog, but haven't really visited it. I will check it out. Hope you are enjoying the weekend.

Good morning Judith,What a beautiful post you have written about yourself. Your photos are fabulous! I am envious of your wildlife habitat property. Just my cuppa tea!*winks* I would love to participate in this Grow Your Blog party but I'm trying to make sense of this mess I've been left with after my desktop crashed. I would love to be entered into your lovely Giveaway. Hope to see you at tea later. Have a beautiful day.

Hi Judith -- I'm not taking part in the grow your blog but I am loving it because of the chance to learn the backgrounds of many of my favorite bloggers. (I think I first got acquainted with you through your beautiful Mosaic Monday posts.) (Since I'm not in the grow your blog challenge, I don't mean to enter your lovely giveaway -- just wanted to stop by and say I enjoyed this post very much).

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog, Butterfly Tales. I love that you do afternoon tea. I love tea and have a pretty nice collection of mostly antique teapots. When I was a nursing student, we had "high tea' every afternoon and it was one of the highlights of the day. I love your blog, and see that you are fond of purple. Will definitely be back to visit you. Am your newest follower!

Hello Judith, it's very nice to meet you. I am visiting from Vicki's GYB party and I think I just fell in love with your blog. So pretty. I love the photos and am happy that I came for a visit to learn more about you and your tea time and such. I am looking forward to visiting with you again soon. Blessings, Bird http://birdsearthyspirit.blogspot.com/

Judith, I've gone along over to grow your blog but I think it might be closed. Oh well. I love the trivet and could always use these in the tea room. Glad you are in the giveaway. It is nice to welcome new followers.

I love the mosaic of your garden and wonder what the lavendar colour is?

Hi Judith, how lovely to meet you and I can almost smell the wonder scent of your flowers. I haven't tole painted for quite a while but your photos reminded me of how much fun the kids and I had in my younger days. Thanks for brightening up a dreary rainy BC day!

Thanks so much for popping by. I love love your teacups and pots. One of the collections I never talk about is my mini teapot collection. Love those intricate bits of china. So nice to meet you, your blog is gorgeous.

You have such a magical life! My mother creates beautiful gardenscapes, too, and I enjoy admiring what nature and humans can do in cooperation! I'm just daydreaming about the day we buy a home in the country side, instead of our very urban apartment so I can attempt to create what you have!

Hello, I am Dawn one of the newbies getting connected to the blogging world from the blog party stopped by to say hi and added you to my new group of sites to visit. Have a great day. I have been dabbling into paper crafts and only have a few post under my belt. but, I am learning from the best. Bloggers that have been established. What a great bunch of gals

Hi Judith! Thanks so much for stopping by my blog (via GYB) and I'm thrilled you'll be following along as I post my homemade cards, recipes, etc. I did stop by your blog on the big GYB day and truly thought I had clicked to follow but guess now ... so I have NOW! I do know, however, that I directed a friend of mine who was also doing the GYB hop over to your blog since she too is a FLOWER LOVER and has beautiful gardens such as yourself.I've truly enjoyed scrolling through your posts and look forward to getting to know you better! Enjoy that SUNSHINE ... currently 8 degrees and snowing here in Ohio, USA!Purple is my favorite color so your blog background/surrounds really appeal to me ... beautifully done!See you again soon I hope!!DarleneDAR'S CRAFTY CREATIONS

Such a beautiful post...I am here for the grow your blog hop...your blog is so peaceful and wonderful...I will come again to spend time here...please enter me into your drawing...thank you and have a blessed day.